''Mycetinis scorodonius'' ( syn. ''Marasmius scorodonius'') is one of the garlic-scented mushrooms formerly in the genus ''

Marasmius ''Marasmius'' is a genus of mushroom-forming fungi in the family Marasmiaceae. It contains about 500 species of agarics, of which a few, such as '' Marasmius oreades'', are edible. However, most members of this genus are small, unimpressive ...

'', having a beige cap of up to 3 cm and a tough slender stipe.

Description

The species can be described as follows: *The cap is red brown (or sometimes beige to ochre) and is hygrophanous, drying to a paler colour. It is sometimes slightly wrinkled and grows to 1–3 cm in diameter. *The gills are white and fairly crowded, and the attachment to the stem varies from

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

to almost free. The spore powder is white. *The stem can grow to 6 cm tall but is only up to 2 mm in diameter. It is bald and pale at the apex, reddish brown lower down, and dark brown or blackish at the base. *The smell and taste are strongly of garlic. *The spores are roughly ellipsoid and measure 7–11 µm x 3–5 µm. *The cheilocystidia (on the gill edge) are of the "broom cell" type, that is, they are club-shaped with a number of finger-like protuberances.

Naming and related species

The species epithet is a Latin adjectival form of the Greek word for garlic, ''scorodon'' (σκόροδον). This species was originally documented as ''Agaricus scorodonius'' by

Fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. The ...

in 1815 and in 1836 the same author established its long-standing designation ''Marasmius scorodonius''. However following a 2005 paper it was decided to separate a group of garlic-smelling species, including this one, off into genus ''

Mycetinis ''Mycetinis'' is a genus of fungus in the Omphalotaceae family, containing about eight species formerly classified in ''Marasmius''. General This group of mushrooms was long known as a section (''Alliacei'') within the more familiar genus ''Maras ...

'' (see that page for more details). An infra-species-level taxon, ''Marasmius scorodonius'' forma ''diminutivus'' was described in 2017 by Petersen et al. This form is smaller, growing only to a cap diameter of 1 cm, and it has only been found in urban environments in Washington state. ''Mycetinis virgultorum'' is (according to Species Fungorum) a closely related species, or (according to Antonín and Noordeloos) a variety within the same species. In the latter classification, the two forms are called ''M. scorodonius'' var. ''scorodonius'' and ''M. scorodonius'' var. ''virgultorum''. The ''virgultorum'' form has smaller fruiting bodies, a scaly dull stem, and smaller spores.

Ecology, distribution and edibility

This mushroom is found from summer to late autumn especially on conifer needles, but also on sticks and other debris, on bark of conifers and deciduous trees, and on grasses and other plants. While usually a saprophyte, it has also been reported as a parasite of grass. It is fairly common in northern and central Europe, present in the remainder of Europe, and reported from eastern North America, North Africa and Asia, including Israel. The taste of ''M. scorodonius'' is often described as nasty or unpleasant. Although edible, it is too small to be substantial. It can be used to add a garlic flavour to dishes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q939086 scorodonius Fungi of Europe Edible fungi